Harmie Constantino emerged as the first ICTSI Villamor Philippine Ladies Masters champion. Pilipinas Golf/Handout.
MANILA -- Harmie Constantino overhauled a big deficit to win by two strokes over Chihiro Ikeda and emerge as the first ICTSI Villamor Philippine Ladies Masters champion, Saturday at the Villamor Golf Club.
Constantino needed just a run of pars in the last five holes and a closing 74 to nail the hotly-disputed championship on a 221 total, as two-day leader Daniella Uy floundered at the finish again. Uy made three straight double bogeys from No. 15 and limped with an 83, squandering a two-stroke lead in the stretch and winding up joint third instead.
Ikeda put in the day’s best 73 in an earlier flight to snatch runner-up honors at 223, with erstwhile contender Korean Seoyun Kim faltering at the finish with three straight bogeys for a 78 for a share of third with Uy at 226.
"I just stuck to and tried to execute my game plan – hit the fairways and make the putts," said Constantino, who battled back from four strokes down and tied Uy after 10 holes to set the stage for another pressure-packed finish.
Uy rode on a birdie-bogey swing on No. 13 to regain a two-shot lead. That, however, proved short-lived as she yielded strokes after strokes in a difficult stretch.
As Uy bogeyed the first three holes and dropped another stroke on No. 6 for a birdie-less 40, Constantino inched closer with a frontside 37 then survived an exacting backside finish with a slew of pars against a lone mishap against the former's backside 43 marked by just one birdie.
"It was not as perfect as I had wanted it to be but I think I played okay. I played as steady as I possibly could," said Constantino, whose par-saving putt from 12 feet on the 54th hole was greeted with jubilation from the home fans.
The back-to-back victories should make the former national champion the marked player when action in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour shifts to Valley Golf in Antipolo for this year’s sixth leg on June 6-9.